A Central High graduate has been named one of this year’s Rhodes scholars

Central High graduate Donovan Dixon, who got his bachelor’s degree from New York University in May, has received a Rhodes scholarship to study at the University of Oxford in England, beginning next fall.

He was one of 32 students selected nationwide for the scholarship, which covers all expenses for two or three years of study and is considered to be one of the most prestigious postgraduate awards. Winners were announced over the weekend.

Dixon, who interned in the office of first lady Jill Biden in 2022 and served as a special assistant in the White House over the summer, got his undergraduate degree in public policy and will seek a Master’s of Philosophy in Comparative Social Policy at Oxford.

“It still hasn’t hit me yet that this is actually happening,” Dixon said in an email Monday afternoon, “but I am extremely honored to have been seen as someone worthy of this incredible distinction.”

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Dixon, who had the distinction of serving as NYU’s 2023 student commencement speaker, has a passion for helping people, in part a product of the financial challenges his own family faced. He hopes to pursue a public service career in Philadelphia, one day working on City Council as a constituent caseworker or legislative director. He also would love to hold a public office.

“I just hope my career puts me in a position to help poor and working people across Philadelphia,” said Dixon, 22. “As someone who experienced financial hardship while growing up, I want to ensure that we give all children and families the opportunity to thrive and I hope that I can be a lifelong advocate for people who are struggling or living in moments of crisis.”

Also winning a Rhodes scholarship was Princeton University senior Samuel J. Harshbarger, of Cranbury Township, N.J. He is majoring in history at Princeton and will pursue a Master’s of Philosophy in History at Oxford.

In his May NYU commencement speech, Dixon shared that his family at one point was evicted from their East Oak Lane home.

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“I quickly learned that life is defined not by what you lack but by what you have,” he told the audience. “When money ran thin, my family had each other. When food became scarce, we had our friends and neighbors.”

Through it all, he said, he always had hope.

“I saw the power of people providing light in my life,” he said, and he became filled with “a burning desire … to ensure that no other family experienced the pain of poverty and eviction.”

His mother, Angela Gantt-Dixon, a medical support assistant at the VA Medical Center, said things are much better for the family now, but she saw how what they went through eight years ago helped to instill in her son a passion for public policy.

Her son, she said, always loved school and if there were any certificates to get, he would get them, she said. His first-grade teacher at Thomas K. Finletter Academics Plus School used to say of her class of 30 students: “I wish I had 29 more of Donovan,” she recalled.

She said her son always liked working on a computer and putting things together. He continually aimed higher and always was looking for the next adventure, she said.

“I’m so very proud of him,” she said, adding that her son also drew support from his father, Michael Dixon, and sister, Deja Dixon, 26. “I can’t wait to see what’s ahead for him.”

At Philadelphia’s Central, he was in the computer science club and involved in leadership of his class, Central’s 278th graduating class of 2019. He also got the president’s award for leadership.

“I know him as an upstanding, compassionate, super good kid,” said Central teacher Michael Horwits, who serves as class sponsor. “Always on the honor roll. Anything I ever needed him to do to make the class run smoothly, he was always there to support.”

Horwits said Dixon is the third Rhodes scholar from Central. Alain Locke won in 1907; he was the first African American Rhodes scholar. Jordan Konell was selected in 2014.

Katelyn Cyril, 22, one of Dixon’s best friends, met him at Central when they were 15. Dixon used to walk her home every day, and he’d come to her house for Thanksgiving. They went to prom together, twice.

She cried when she heard he won and her whole family cheered.

“He just keeps getting better and better,” said Cyril, a Temple University graduate who is preparing to seek a graduate degree as a physician assistant.

Dixon went to NYU on a full four-year scholarship, covering tuition, fees, and room and board. Throughout his time there, he held multiple leadership positions and became more involved in politics. He interned for the Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and the African American Mayors Association and two New York City council members.

He wrote his honors thesis on establishing a “climate-centric home-repair program for Philadelphia,” according to the Rhodes news release. Dixon explained that his work in part was inspired by the Philadelphia Energy Authority’s Built to Last program that helps low-income homeowners in aging properties make their houses more energy efficient.

“Both of the houses I’ve lived in faced structural problems, plumbing/electrical issues, and health-related issues, so this served as my motivation to examine this topic,” he said in his email to The Inquirer. “I conceptualized a whole-home repair program … that would provide comprehensive repairs with an explicit focus on super insulation to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.”

He said he cares deeply about the issues of housing and homelessness.

“When my family lost our home in 2015, we were lucky to have my grandmother take us in,” he said. “I think about the people who did not have someone to take them in after an eviction and also how far too many Philadelphians either live in inadequate housing or are unhoused.”

He said he hopes to use his time at Oxford to learn “how postindustrial cities across the world contend with aging infrastructure and … how home repair policies can revitalize aging housing stocks while mitigating poverty, preventing eviction, and protecting affordable housing.”

When he leaves for Oxford next year, it will be his first time out of the country.

“I’m excited to explore Oxford and the U.K.,” he said, “interact with as many people as I can, and just have the opportunity to live in a different country for two years.”